SB 471 Summary

• Establishes state voting rights protections prohibiting any law or practice that denies or abridges voting rights for protected class members (race, color, or language minority groups), effective January 1, 2023.

• Creates a state-wide election database managed by the Secretary of State to maintain 12+ years of demographic, electoral, and administrative data by district, with public access, to assist in evaluating election administration consistency with voting rights provisions.

• Requires municipalities to provide voting materials in minority language(s) when the Secretary determines more than 2% of voting-age citizens (or 4,000+ citizens) speak English "less than very well" according to Census data.

• Establishes preclearance requirement effective January 1, 2024 for "covered jurisdictions" (those with prior voting rights violations or certain demographic/arrest rate disparities) to obtain approval from Secretary of State or court before enacting changes to districting, election methods, polling places, or voter qualifications.

• Prohibits voter intimidation, deception, and obstruction; allows private parties and organizations to sue for violations and recover attorney's fees and court costs if they prevail.